Charles Camosy describes himself in the opening pages of For Love of Animals as a “Catholic Christian ethicist” who came to see that doing justice “means being consistent and impartial in giving individuals and groups what they are owed” (2). For him, this means that the Catholic social doctrine of “preferential option” for those who are poor, marginalized, or powerless should be applied to all vulnerable populations, including animals. His book, then, is a theological explanation of his awakening, and a call to action for others to adopt this perspective and work together for the well-being of “nonhuman animals”—in addition to “human animals.” In this relatively brief book, he seeks to explain how traditional values such as nonviolence, respect for life, stewardship of God's creation, concern for the vulnerable, and rejection of consumerism require us to treat animals morally. In support of his views, he covers a wide variety of topics, including Christianity and “speciesism” (bias in favor of one's own species over another), animals in the Bible and the early church, attitudes of saints and other great Christian thinkers, as well as the ethics of factory farms, the use of animals in research, hunting, owning pets, and eating meat.

This is the strength of Camosy's book: his broad introduction to potential readers, perhaps especially undergraduates and older adults, of some basic information that will bring about, he hopes, a dramatic change in the treatment of animals today—in a world (with its urban concentrations) that is increasingly distancing itself from any sense of connection with animals other than as prepackaged, neatly wrapped food sources in supermarkets. Animals, he rightly argues, are now just another aspect of our contemporary obsession with consumerism, and their suffering is totally ignored. Animal rights groups like PETA should not be the only ones at the forefront of defending animals; Christians themselves should be there, too. “Far from mere giving,” Camosy writes, “Christian charity requires that we imitate Jesus's active loving-kindness for all” (5). His discussion questions at the end of each chapter and suggestions for further reading contribute to the usefulness of this book.

Still, the strength of For Love of Animals contains its inherent weakness, and the author's desire to cover so many topics leads to outright inaccuracies. Camosy wants to argue that contrary to many people's perspectives, Christianity is not responsible for the atrocious treatment of animals in human history. He attempts to develop the case that Christian thought is “not the problem,” but “part of the solution” to treating animals justly and well. Yet, in the process of making this defense, he overlooks aspects of Christian history and theology that certainly did encourage the harmful treatment of animals in negligent if not outright cruel ways. For example, contrary to his defense of Thomas Aquinas as a great medieval theologian whose thinking “actually supports a rather sophisticated view of nonhuman animals” (65), Aquinas believed that animals were created exclusively for human use, encouraging the idea that they had no rights nor value in themselves. (Andrew Linzey, Anglican theologian and pioneer in animal theology, develops this much further in his books.) Too often, however, Camosy turns to his primary sources, the Catechism of the Catholic Church and statements of recent popes, to support his contention that Christians have nothing to be ashamed of in their treatment of animals. A simple acknowledgment of past misdeeds and harmful attitudes would strengthen his case for moral decision making today. In addition, his chapter 3, on angels and aliens, offers no support for his argument for nonhuman animal rights; rather, it distracts from it.

Despite some of these problems, For Love of Animals can be a helpful book in promoting precisely what it says: the love of nonhuman animals, and a serious consideration of how that love should be interpreted by human animals of whatever faith today. It asks serious questions about whether Christians should eat meat, whether medical research is justified, and whether factory farms should be changed. This is a thoughtful book for those interested in developing a loving treatment of all animals from the perspective of Christian ethics and a consistent ethic of life.